Over the past decades, welding has become a dominant process in fabricating industrial and commercial products. Applications for welding are wide-spread and used throughout the world. Examples include the construction of ships, buildings, vehicles and pipe lines. Welding is also used in repairing or modifying existing products. Among the various methods of joining metal components, arc welding is one well known and very common process.
The arc welding process may employ consumable welding wire, which in some instances may be provided in the form of stick electrodes, otherwise known as welding rods. While such containers have provided sufficient protection during bulk shipment of stick electrodes to distributors, the market for direct-to-consumer sales requires additional safeguards for shipping and storage. In some instances, the stick electrodes may be covered with a flux coating, which in some instances may be brittle and/or hygroscopic. As such, the coating may be damaged or otherwise compromised during the shipping and/or storage process prior to welding by excessive motion, exposure to the ambient environment, and other deleterious conditions. Accordingly, what is needed is a container for elongated articles, such as welding electrodes, which provides protection to the articles from both movement and other environmental conditions encountered during shipping and storage.